El Salvador Just Had Its First Murder-Free Day In Three Years

El Salvador received some much-needed good news this weekend,
when officials announced that Saturday was the first
homicide-free day in the country in three years,
Reuters reports.

"After years when the number of murders reached alarming levels
of up to 18 per day, we saw not one homicide in the country,"
President Mauricio Funes said in a statement released on Sunday.

The central American country has been plagued by
drug wars for years, but last month, a truce was brokered by
the Catholic church (with help from the government) between Mara
Salvatrucha and Mara 18, the country’s two most powerful rival
gangs, Salvadorian newspaper
Contrapunto reports. However, Funes credits the drop to
increased security measures.

At the beginning of Funes’ term as president in 2009, El Salvador
saw an average of 12 murders a day, and according to statistics
from the United Nations, the country’s homicide rate is 66
deaths per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world. Much
of the violence is blamed on Mexican cartels, who use the country
as a transit point.

The Catholic church is reportedly now in talks with gang leaders
to eradicate extortion, which mainly affect small and medium
entrepreneurs. If it goes well, it could dramatically improve the
country’s economy by attracting foreign investment, according to
the president of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), Carlos Acevedo.